A fuel rail, or common fuel rail, is typically coupled to a fuel pump that feeds the fuel rail with fuel at a pressure. The fuel rail feeds a plurality of injectors with fuel at the pressure. The injectors are controlled by an ECU that opens a hydraulic valve when fuel is required. The injectors inject fuel directly into respective engine cylinders or at the intake port at a desired pressure.
Vehicle fuel rails are typically manufactured from steel in order to withstand compression forces applied between the fuel rail and a vehicle's intake manifold during crash conditions. In the event of a frontal impact, the vehicle's intake manifold can deform towards the engine and into contact with the fuel rail. A strength of the fuel rail is thus required to be higher than a strength of the intake manifold such that the intake manifold will fracture, leaving the fuel rail intact, and preventing fuel leakage that could otherwise occur as a result of fracture or splitting of the fuel rail.
During crash conditions, particularly in the event of a frontal impact, a vehicle's fuel rail will rotate and bend. Each injector is coupled to the fuel rail and a seal is provided between the fuel rail and an injector by an O-ring seal. If the fuel rail bends excessively during crash conditions the O-ring seal can fail causing fuel leakage, a disruption to fuel supply and failure of safety requirements.
It is known to provide reinforcements adjacent to the bending center of the fuel rail, but this has been found to have little effect on a fuel rail's bending strength. It is also known to provide a thick steel plate between the fuel rail and the intake manifold to reduce a load transferred into the fuel rail during crash conditions. This solution adds further weight to the vehicle, is expensive to implement and certain engine configurations may prevent this solution being employed due to limited points at which the steel plate can be mounted to the engine.
It is against this background that the present disclosure has arisen.